Resident Evil: Project Y
by Mavrick
Summary: The final revision...I hope. Hawk is a rookie operative sent to Siberia where he has to stop a Viral outbreak. Then there is Rachel, a woman who was in Raccoon, together they may the only thing standing between the U.S.A. and a viral outbreak.
1. Default Chapter

****

RESIDENT EVIL

PROJECT-Y

January 5th 2004

The moon lit up the ground nicely, white powdery snow blanketed most of the ground, the wind was mostly still, but the air was bitter cold the stars could be seen brightly, and the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the air. The helicopter ride was bumpy and long, Hawk seemed to bounce back and forth, as the tiny aircraft continually shook. Hawk was just less than six feet tall, his eyes were a light blue, his hair sandy blonde, Hawk was slim, and he had some muscle and he had a lot of agility..

Hawk was nervous, his brow had little beads of sweat it seemed to have gotten hot inside. Hawk knew then wiped away the sweat, he stood up and tried to shake of the feeling. Hawk then looked up at the pilot who was already looking back at him, the man smiled politely and turned his attention back to what was in front of him, six hours left before an incident that could turn America into a disaster area. 

It was very odd. The feelings Hawk had. He remembered when he'd left there was no real feeling of concern, or fear, not much anyway, but as time went on, he'd grown nervous, he was scared, scared of what might happen. Hawk looked down on the ground of Siberia, a wasteland by all means to him, nothing out there, nothing around him, he then looked ahead peering into the bleak darkness, regretting the situation. Hawk then looked up front into the helicopter, when the man signaled it was time for him to jump. Hawk then looked out into the darkness once more, and could see lights on inside a building, not to far ahead. He checked his gear once more, and then opened the door, he took a deep breath, and closed his eyes tightly, he then began counting back from five. He stopped at three and jumped. 

He was falling quickly down to the ground, there was a quick rush, and he felt a bit strange. He silently counted to himself until he pulled out his parachute. Instantly he was yanked back, and felt an immediate slowdown. Slowly Hawk glided to the ground. As he came down and touched the ground he could hear the crunching under his feet of the white snow.

Hawk looked up ahead and could see the massive building, a lab actually, probably ten stories high. Lights were on in some windows, he could even see people moving by them. 

"This is perfect." Hawk mumbled, and then started off to the facility in a light sprint. Hawk ran quickly through the area trying to find an entrance. Cameras were all looking over the area, Hawk moved cautiously and quickly, with all the light out anyone could easily see him. As Hawk surveyed it all, he could see no sentries patrolling the outside, which was odd. 

Hawk didn't focus on that too much longer, he just studied the area closely, the best way in seemed to be through a window and from there he could get to the stairs easily. Hawk then got to the side of the lab and crouched low and he reached into his pocket, and grabbed a tiny locket; he squeezed it and made a light prayer.

Hawk thought for a second exactly why he was here. Details were sketchy but he knew the following.

Four hours ago, this military research outpost, occupied by United States scientist was seized and taken over by a group called Red Faction, Hawk knew the leader as Karl Silverman, a known terrorist thought to have some connection with the 2002 U.S. Embassy bombings down in England and France adding five to his career total. Karl's demands were simple, thirty billion dollars and the withdrawing of U.S. troops over in Northern Korea, the consequences for not following the demands would be a missile launch on the West Coast of the United States.

Hawk orders were also simple; he was to see if the possibility of a strike was possible, and if so destroy it. He was also being ordered to recover information from the computer in Lab 2 on floor five in the north end of the complex. Hawk's only communication was via a tiny receiver in his ear, he could only talk to one man, Colonel Todd Marshall, head of the operation.

  
Hawk carefully, took out three plugs from his vest. He then placed them on the window followed by a forth, he then hit the forth one and the glass shattered into tiny pieces. 

"What the hell was that?" Hawk heard a man cry and slowly came to investigate, Hawk then quickly came in through the window and ducked into a nearby closet.

He could hear the guard as he stepped on the glass; "What the hell?" he asked and then Hawk could hear the static sound of the radio and heard the man speak.

"Sir we may have an intruder breach, I've found a possible entrance by the northern hall on the first floor."

"Thanks I'll send a team down immediately." the man over the radio replied. The men sounded American.

Hawk took a deep breath, hopefully the closet wouldn't be checked, and maybe he'd get lucky.

Moments past by when the guards finally came, Hawk's heart rate seemed to jump, he panicked as he listened out, both his adrenaline and breathing also went up, Hawk tried his best to remain silent. A few more moments passed by, they seemed to last forever. Hawk then breathed a big sigh of relief as the guards finally agreed that if there was an intruder, he probably fled before they had gotten there.

Hawk waited for all of the guards to walk off, and once confident he slowly opened the door a crack, and peered out into the hall, no one was there and so he then proceeded to go out, investigating his surroundings as he did he activated the link up.

"I'm in." Hawk then whispered.  
"What's your status?" Todd asked.

"I had a somewhat close call but I'm fine, security seems tight, this may be a little harder than intelligence thought but it's weird, there's no security patrolling the outside."  
"Don't worry about it Hawk, there's no time for that. Make sure you stay out of sight, you're the only hope we've got, you've only got six hours so hurry up."

"Yes sir." Hawk replied and then ended the conversation.

Todd was a strong principled man, very light hearted, and very dedicated to his job, he was somewhat of an older brother to Hawk, always looking out for him. Hawk felt more relaxed knowing that it was Todd in charge of the mission.

. 

Hawk carefully checked the area waiting for the first sign of trouble. Once he was certain that he could proceed, Hawk began to walk off. As he walked along the area he had a feeling of anxiety, this was all new to him, no longer just practice, but the real thing, these men would actually try to kill him, and he'd be trying to kill the. His thoughts seem to dwell on that for a few moments.

Hawk found a stair well, and proceeded upward. According to the blueprints Lab one was on the third floor of this building, Hawk carefully and quickly climbed the stairs he made sure to make as little noise as possible.

Elsewhere…

Nicholai stared silently at Karl, he looked deep in thought, something that no longer surprised him, Kyle lightly sighed, and seemed to sneer in frustration, he then looked up at Nicholai, "How many do you think they sent?" he then asked looking up at the ceiling.

Nicholai took a moment to process all he knew and then looked at Karl, maybe five, and that's pushing it, if I know Frank he's just sending in one, he thinks it is something we won't expect.

"So you think Franks just sending in his best trained man, to take all this on?" Karl then questioned not taking his eyes away from the ceiling.

"Yes." Nicholai said without hesitation, it's happened before, is you remember Black Widow?"

"Oh yes, she would be the one exception, but I don't think anyone else would be suited to actually deal with this and if I recall Widow retired a long time ago."

"No she did not." Nicholai then said firmly, "in fact, we have reason to believe she may be in the base." 

"What?" Karl then looked at Nicholai surprised by the news.

"Sir, we know it may be a long shot but about two hours ago, we found that there was an open vent leading inside this base."  
"No one saw this?" Karl asked irritated, his eyes now locked on Nicholai.

"The guard on duty says that he didn't notice it at all until just an hour ago, but I can say that this is her style."  
Karl then stroked his chin a second and looked down, "Nicholai, I want tighter security, especially around Rolland and the bio lab, we can't afford to lose them."

"Yes sir," Nicholai then saluted, and left the room.

Karl then, sat down in a chair behind him, "So the U.S. wants to try and solve this the hard way huh?"

Hawk was now on the third floor, it was a well-lit area, the floor was marble and bare, it had brown walls and the light seemed to be bouncing around.

"Where should I go?" Hawk then asked himself, and looked around the small area to see where the lab was.

It didn't take long to find the lab, the room labeled was in big bold letters on a gray door. Hawk walked up and noticed a tiny control panel, all doors on the base were electronically sealed, but the boys at HQ had prepared him. Hawk took out a small black object from his belt and opened up the control panel, he then hooked up the tiny machine to the panel, and there was a slightly loud beeping sound.

"Jeez!" Hawk whispered aloud and then went silent wondering for a moment if anyone had heard, he then felt a little bit lax, as no one seemed to come.

The door then slowly slid open and Hawk walked in. 

The lab was almost pitch black, a little bit of light came in when the door opened but then as it shut behind him it went all dark. Hawk pressed his hand against the wall to see if a light switch was nearby, but couldn't find anything.  
  
Hawk stood still a moment as a slight sound could be heard, shuffling, Hawk looked to see where the sound came from yet he couldn't see in the dark, hawk then began to search one more and then smiled as he finally found it, Hawk then turned on the lights, and almost jumped back as a woman could be seen holding a gun at him, Hawk then shook his head, as he could see that she had on some goggles.

"Not what I need." Hawk grumbled aloud.

"Who the hell are you?" The woman asked looking Hawk over, sizing him up, she looked to be in her early twenties, long dark hair, dark mocha skin, her face very nice, she had a small frame, was attractive and had her long hair black in a pony tail. The woman wore a lab coat with her I.D. on her right pocket, Hawk looked oddly at her, he realized he was sweating a little and so was she, she also seemed to be a little adjective.

"First time huh?" Hawk said nervously trying to sound calm and cool, but he was positive his shaking would give him away.

"First time what?" She then asked, taking her goggles off with one hand holding the gun in the other.

"First time you've ever been put in the situation where you have to shoot someone."

"Don't mess with me." She said trying to act tough but she still seemed to be trembling.

"It's okay." Hawk said nervously thinking of what to do as he stood there with the gun pointed at him, "I'm not exactly a veteran myself."

"Shut up," The woman then ordered. "So who are you with, Nicholai's men?"

"Who the hell is that?" Hawk then asked.

"You're not a terrorist are you?" she then asked lowering her gun.

Hawk breathed a sigh of relief as she seemed to lower the gun. "What makes you think I'm not one Nicholai's men?" he asked curiously.

"Just your look, and the fact that you aren't armed."

"Oh, well then just who the hell are you, a hostage? Are there more?"

"I'm no hostage, I'm one of the remaining scientist stationed at this base, name's Cynthia, Cynthia Williams."  
"How many others are there left?" Hawk then asked.

"Just me and Rolland, the others were…" Cynthia then looked down at the ground.

"Jeez, how many were there?" Hawk then asked knowing by the look in her eyes what had become of them.

"Eight, myself included."  
"How did you survive?"

"I escaped."  
"How?" Hawk asked puzzled.

"Guards were way too loud, I could hear them down the hall so I hid."

"Oh," Hawk said walking up to her, stopping a few feet in front, he then held out his hand, "Give me the gun." he then ordered.

"Huh?" Cynthia asked skeptically.

"You're to shaky, you pause, and you die." As Hawk said this, he was thinking about how he'd cope, he had yet to shoot an actual person, training dummies, and simulated figures was all he'd ever fired at.

"Fine," The woman said giving him the gun, "I guess I can find somewhere to hold out at."  
"Good, remember to stay put, Hawk said as he then activated his link up.

"What is it Hawk?" Todd asked.

"I've found a scientist."  
"Where?"

"in the lab on the third floor."  
"Good, now see if you can get some information out of her." Todd said sounding a little upbeat

"Yes sir." Hawk said ending transmission.

Hawk then looked over Cynthia who seemed to be looking oddly at him.

"Who is that?" She asked.

Hawk hesitated a second but then nodded, "a friend," He then said, "Do you have any information that may be useful?"

It was Cynthia's turn to hesitate now, she the shook her head.

"Listen if you know anything you need to tell me." Hawk then said sensing she was hiding something.

Cynthia paused and the mumbled "forgive me." under her breath, "Do you know of Project Y?" She then questioned.  
"Huh?" Hawk asked puzzled.

"I'll take that as no." She then thought of whether to go on or not, but she knew that he'd want more so she had to. "Many believe this place to be a simple base made to conduct research, but in all actuality, it's a base that's been conducting experiments using biological weapons. One of those weapons just happens to be a virus capable of mutating anything it comes in contact with, the mutation usually ends up turning it's host into a mindless flesh eating zombie."  
"You can't be serious." Hawk then replied in disbelief.

"Oh, I'm serious." Cynthia said her eyes locked on Hawk's.

"Do you remember the Raccoon City incident?"

"Yeah, an epidemic out of control, had to bomb the place to make sure it didn't spread outside the city." Hawk replied.  
"That's not the full story." Cynthia said, "Do you remember the tabloid stories after that?"

Hawk then snickered at the thought, "Yeah, some of the weirdest things I've ever heard of."  
"The tabloids were the only people who got the story right, from the giant worm, to the flesh eating zombies, they were right on the money in almost everything they reported."  
"Oh, and why didn't the New York Times or USA Today report any of these things?" Hawk then asked suspiciously.

"Easy your idiot," Cynthia smiled "they have voice and recognition, it might raise thoughts in some peoples minds. Tabloids on the other hand, aren't as believable, tell me, do you believe in Bat Boy? Or do you think that Hillary Clinton was really dating an Alien?"

Hawk then stopped to think where she was getting at, maybe she did have a point, "I think I understand." Hawk then said taking it all in.

"You have to believe me when I say that the payload on this base could bring Hell on Earth literally." Cynthia went on, "The things you would have thought only capable in a horror movie would become reality. Just release this thing on one major city and the virus would spread like a wild fire, that's why Raccoon was bombed. Once the President found out that this thing could be crawling in the White Hours lawn in a number of weeks he ordered the city to be terminated. The epidemic was known as the 'T'-Virus, the sister Virus of 'Y', the virus that terrorist are threatening to unleash on the U.S. West Coast."

"Why would we develop something like this?" Hawk wanted to know as he listened intently.

"Well, if you remember we had the rising tensions down in the Middle East, and the threats of a nuclear attack and biological warfare became even more real."

"So we did research on this, T-virus, and even keep a supply of it, and now the worst scenario possible has come true huh?" Hawk then sighed.

"Exactly but it gets worse from there." Cynthia then added.

"What do you mean?" Hawk asked not sure if he wanted to hear this.

"This base is also the sight of the super solider product." 

"Huh?" Hawk asked a puzzled expression on his face.

"As I mentioned the virus has the ability to mutate genes. With the rising tensions through out the Middle East, it seemed like a good idea to begin the project."  
"And then it was postponed?"  
"Yeah, the company conducting the project filed bankruptcy."  
"Why?" 

"I don't know, but from what I understand we lost a lot of information on the project and had to start from scratch."  
"So this is a prototype?"

"No, there have been a few other versions."  
"You've gotta be kidding me, when?" Hawk said taken a little by shock.

"Raccoon, and various other places."

"What, so then that means they knew about everything that was going on in Raccoon before hand?"  
"Not everyone, the President had no idea about the projects, only a select few."

Hawk wanted to know more, he did feel he wasn't told everything, but it was a lot more then he'd known at first. Hawk needed to start going he was wasting more time then necessary talking to her. "Listen," Hawk then spoke "I've wasted to much time talking I've gotta get moving," he then handed her a small radio, "I'll contact you when I need more information, but right now I've gotta go, times wasting, find a place to hide, and do it quickly, once you do, contact me, that way I don't have to worry about you."  
"Why not let me tag along?" Cynthia then asked.

"You'll slow me down, I can't hold your hand the entire time, I need to concentrate."  
"Oh come on," Cynthia pleaded, "I know this place much better then you."

"Exactly, I need you alive that way you can tell me where I need to go, you know what around the corner, that's why I need you alive."

Cynthia and Hawk looked directly at one another, the gazes locked on each other.

"Fine," Cynthia then said reluctantly, "I'll find somewhere to hide,"  
"Good," Hawk said, and then exited the room, carefully checking left and right to see if anyone might be around.

When Hawk left Cynthia, whispered something under her breath, "Good luck, your gonna need it." She then took out a radio and switched it on.

"What now?" A voice whispered over it.

"You've got company." Cynthia replied.

**__**

Note- This is the final rewrite, a few less characters, anyways, any suggestions on what should happen next are welcomed if you have some E-Mail me at **_Jraider2004@aol.com_****__**

Please read and review too. 

Next Chapter- The action comes into play, and Hawk digs up more on the Y-virus and meets one more character. 


	2. Back to raccoon

****

Raccoon City was as bad as it got, cars lay empty in the streets, pieces of glass, and other debris litters the floor, along with fire hydrants knocked over. The air smelled of blood, and death, along with rotting flesh, and sewage. The air was cold and the wind made it even worse. Unearthly roars filled the air, along with the sounds of the screaming of those unlucky enough to still be alive. There were also the occasional gunshots here and there. Gina had been here two days. She witnessed everything that happened. The police's attempt to combat the zombies had failed miserably and her own squad was gone. As soon as she touched ground, everything had gone to hell. 

  
Gina was somewhat tall, slender, and had a fit physical look, her hair was dark red and went down to her shoulders, and her eyes a very dark jade, and she was of Asian decent and had on the gear of the U.B.C.S. Her uniform was bloody, and her face wore of fatigue, her body ached a little, and her hair was full of split ends, things just weren't going her way. 

For Gina that last 48 hours had been the worst in her life. Gina's squad had been wiped out, everywhere she seemed to turn some new weird creature was right there waiting for her. Gina was also dead tired, she didn't feel she could go on much longer, but in every instant she wanted to give up she remembered she had a mission to complete.

For the moment Gina's mission was to just stay alive. Gina had her back flat against the alley wall trying not to make a sound. The licker carefully searched the area, also slowly moving, occasionally stopping to see if it could feel any vibrations or if any sounds were made. Gina held her breath, a cold sweat trickled down her neck, and she could feel urge to sneeze. She could feel the wind brush against her lightly. The Licker then started to leave the alley, scaling the wall, but then what Gina feared happened.

"Achooo!" To Gina it sounded like a gun shot going off, she then looked up, the licker heard it too. Gina then rolled forward, as the licker lunged towards her, it's sharp bloody claw leading the way. Gina drew her weapon, aiming up at the licker, but had to throw herself to the side as the licker came on the attack once more. This time the creature used it's piercing tongue, to attack. It hit nothing but the could hard brick, Gina then fired off two shots, one missing, the other hitting it in the arm. The licker made out a yelp of pain, as blood came from the open wound. Gina then braced herself for the next attack, and then ducked as the licker tried to lunge once more. Gina then turned around, and let off three shots, the licker screamed in pain as each shot tore through its flesh, it then made a yelp and collapsed dead as the forth shot ripped through its upper body. 

  
Gina wiped off her brow and quickly left the alleyway before anything else could come at her. As Gina proceeded on through the streets she could hear screams very near by, there were still many that could be heard, still so many living, but by tomorrow, she knew Raccoon would be dead, or near it, the rate at which the creatures were gaining ground was amazing. Gina could hear the sounds of unearthly roars too, and the sound of moaning coming near. Gina thought the sounds to close for comfort and quickly pushed on.

It had taken an hour or so, and Gina was now on an eerily quiet street. She slowly walked around surveying the shopping district closely, she could see that the places had been broken into, and the there were also no more signs of life. 

A loud scream then pierced the cold air of the night it. Gina could tell it was close. Gina could also tell that whoever it was, she seemed to be on the move. Gina hesitated for a second, she didn't know whether to go or not, maybe she shouldn't go to the rescue, if anything, the girl would die anyway, she'd probably be postponing the inevitable. But she knew she couldn't do that, she'd never forgive herself, and neither would _he_ Gina then shook her head in reluctance and started off in a sprint to the screaming.

As Gina came in on the screaming, this sudden sense of danger came over her. She rounded the corner carefully, and then could see two zombies, converging in on a young girl. The girl was scared to death; she stood crouched in the corner, tears streaming down her cheeks. Gina quickly raised her gun at the one closet to her, and with out hesitation delivered a shoot straight to the head. The zombie crumpled up and collapsed to the ground, twitching a little. Gina then watched as the other one turned to look at her. Judging by the appearance, the man hadn't been dead long. He was about twenty, maybe nineteen, he had on a metallica t-shirt, and a burger Kong hat, his eyes had a glazed over look, and his skin was unbelievably pale. His face seemed to be intact, yet his arms had bite marks on him and pieces of skin were hanging loose. His clothes were also bloody.

His feet dragged against the floor as he lurched towards Gina, his arms stretched out towards him as though he wanted to have her in an embrace. Gina heard moaning from behind her, and looked over her shoulder to see more of the living dead coming her way. 

She then turned back towards the other zombie who was now on top of her. His long bony fingers reached out towards her, and the creature opened his mouth, trying to go in for her neck. Gina balled up her fist and punched him away from her, which seemed to knock off the jaw. 

As the zombie stumbled back and feel to the ground, Gina quickly dashed off to the girl.

"C'mon." Gina said in a rush yet trying to sound comforting, she then extended her hand out toward the frightened girl, and watched as the girl grabbed it. Gina then pulled her up; the zombies were coming in quick now. As Gina started to move, she realized the girl was still frozen in shock. "C'mon," Gina then said to her and yanked hand to get her to come along. 

****

Once Gina had gotten clear of the zombies the next order of business was to get to safety. She looked at the girl, she looked about sixteen, and she was shorter than her. Her hair was long, yet was tangled up and stringy, her face covered in dirt and her hands were cut up too. The teenager wore a blue sweatshirt, and she wore some denim colored jeans. As Gina looked into her eyes she could tell she'd been through a lot. 

"What's your name," Gina then asked as she looked around trying to find a place to hide.

"Cynthia," she replied silently. 

****

  


The hall way wasn't to well lit; it was wide and stretched on a long way down. Hawk hid in the shadows in the corner. He was down in a crouching position his hand against his ear. 

"So you swear you never new any of this?" Hawk whispered telling Tom what Cynthia had told him.

"Hawk believe me, I didn't even know half the stuff she told you."

Tom sounded convincing but Hawk wasn't sure, he had been totally in the dark up until he'd met Cynthia, and while Tom sounded pretty convincing, he also sounded a little nervous and that wasn't a good sign.

"Tom you better not be lying to me." Hawk said 

"Don't worry about that," then replied quickly. 

Hawk could hear Tom about to say something else but the was forced to end his transmission before he could finish.

"So you hear about that scientist chick?" a voice then came echoing through the halls. Hawk could see two gentlemen both walking side by side. Like the typical guards, they each wore snow camouflage gear, and carried with them assault rifles. Each guard also had on a white balaclava and had two grenades with a few clips slung around their waist.

"Oh yeah, I saw her just the other day," The guard then said a bit of anger in his voice, "bitch tried to take a shot at me."  
"I would too, you have that effect on people." The other guard then said jokingly.

"That was funny." the first guard said sarcastically, followed by a sigh, "So, how much longer do you think this thing will take?" 

"Depends," the other guard replied and then looked his friend right in the eyes. "You getting scared?" he then asked.

"Hell no…it's just, well, you know, the boss."

"Oh, yeah, he seems a little out there."

"I been thinking, and you know what, I think he's the type who would bomb that place no matter what happens. "  


"What is going on here? " A voice then cried down the hall. Hawk looked up ahead and saw a towering fellow then emerged, his muscles were big and well defined, his hair was jet black and in a crew cut, his skin pale, and he wore dark sunglasses, and while he wore almost the exact same gear as the other men, he wore a beret and carried with him an Ask-47 with him. 

"Sir, we were just discussing our current status." One of the guards then said scared half to death. 

"Well, get back to you post, we have an intruder, and we need to be on the look out.

"So, they're looking for me huh?" Hawk then whispered to himself. He watched the two guards begin to walk off, and then the superior officer called after them.  
"Also, be careful," he then spoke low, "She's a tough one."  
"She?" Hawk then asked confused. 

The two guards then saluted him once more and walked off.

Hawk watched as the commanding officer stood there for a few moments. After a while, he then started to walk off. Hawk was intrigued by his actions, it was almost as if he was trying to listen for some very faint sound. Hawk's heart then started to pound as he saw the man stop. The large officer began to sniff the air and all Hawk did was look on oddly, as the man turned around. Hawk was sure where that he was staring at him, Hawk's heart began to really pound against his chest now. The man started towards his direction, he then stopped ten feet away, and looked directly in that area, "You can come out now." He spoke, his tone firm and somewhat demanding.

Hawk didn't move, instead he just stood still, he was scared he'd now been confronted and while he knew the logical choice, he wasn't able to move. Hawk wanted to take out his gun, and take a shot but if he missed it would be game over. 

As Hawk plotted what to do, the officer grew impatient and then rushed over. Fear seized Hawk and in an instant he watched as the officer extended his arm out for him. Before Hawk knew it, he was being thrown over the man's head. Hawk did manage to pull off a landing though, and then got into a fighting pose. He was a little shaken up and taken by surprise at the quickness in which the officer moved. 

"You might as well surrender." The figure said, taking up his weapon.

Hawk instantly took out his gun too, and both men had their guns out.

"Just who are you anyway?" The man then asked, as he took another sniff of the air, you can't be Trish, he then said remorsefully, "And that's a pity, really it is." 

Hawk was trying to keep the gun straight, yet he was trembling, the gun was shaking about, he wanted to fire, but couldn't bring himself to do it, instead he was scared, and he didn't know what to do.

"Are you shaking?" The man then grinned.

"Can't you see that?" Hawk then whispered to himself.

"I can't see it, so I'm guessing by the rate of your breathing and how heavily your doing it. You see, I may not be able to see but I can hear exceptionally well."

"Can't see?" Hawk then whispered surprised by what he'd just heard. 

"Surprises you doesn't it?" The man asked, "allow me to introduce myself, my name is Gary Shaffer, a.k.a. Hunter."  


"Shaffer?" Hawk recognized the name yet he couldn't place it. "The war hero…" Hawk then whispered to himself finally remembering the name. 

"I'm no hero." He then growled, "I'm only a man doing what does best, killing."

Hawk could hear the pounding of footsteps behind him, and then heard a guard.

"Freeze" He demanded. Hawk could then see Hunter grin a little. "Turn around!" The guard then demanded. Hawk did as ordered. "Drop the gun!" the guard cried out as he continued on towards him. 

Hawk didn't move, he was frozen with fear and yet he knew he had to make a move. He was sweating heavily and all thoughts that he had at that moment lead to the same conclusion, "Game over." He said.

As the guard came within a few yards, he looked up at Hunter, "You idiot do something!" A voice then yelled out, taking the guard's attention away from Hawk. Hawk hesitated for a moment but then took the opportunity. In one swift motion Hawk drooped down to the floor and swooped up his gun. From there it all moved in slow motion. As Hawk pointed the gun up at the officer he could see the man's eyes widen as Hawk fired. Hawk then watched the man collapse and a pool of blood develop. 

  
Hawk looked at the motionless body for a few seconds. That was the first man he'd ever killed. As Hawk had stared into his eyes seconds ago, he could feel quilt. At that moment, he could hear a voice in the back of his head screaming for him to move. Hawk then rolled back onto one knee, aiming his gun directly at his enemy's head/

"You're better than I thought." Hunter grinned once more, "You can come out now Trish, he's still alive." 

"Trish?" Hawk then asked himself, and looked on, holding his gun at Hunter. He watched closely as the grin on Hunters face vanished, and he began to listen out for something. After a moment or two, Hawk could hear footsteps echoing through the halls, and then he could see a woman come sprinting from behind Hunter. Hunter whipped around and opened fire on the lady. Quickly the woman threw herself hard against the wall to avoid the shots, as they whizzed by. 

Hawk didn't know what was going on every thing happened so fast. A second later, Hawk was forced to dive to the left as Hunter fired back at him, and then dashed through, muttering something. Hawk took shots, but not one of them came close to striking him. Hawk then turned around and looked at the woman. 

The lady seemed slow getting up and Hawk saw the perfect opportunity. Hawk quickly rushed up to her "Freeze," he demanded, pointing his gun at her.

"You idiot," she then barked.

"Huh?" Hawk asked confused. 

"Do you really think I'm working with him?" She then asked, "He just tried to kill me."

Hawk didn't lower his aim; he kept his gun pointed down at her. She then slowly moved to scratch her shoulder. 

"Satisfied?" she then asked.

"Just who the hell are you?" Hawk asked sharply

"Name's Rachel," She said extending her hand.

"Rachel?" Hawk asked, not bothering to do it. Rachel was Asian, her hair a dull brown, her face looked a little rough with fatigue but she still seemed attractive. Her eyes were a dark brown, and her hair was rolled into a ponytail. Rachel had a nice figure too. What really surprised Hawk was that her outfit was eerily similar to his, only difference was she 's had an insignia, one that read "Savior"   
"Hey, you like what you see?" She asked noticing Hawk looking a little too hard. 

  
"Just what the hell are you doing here?" Hawk continued on with questions blushing a little.

"Are you embarrassed?" She asked a grin crossing her face.   
"Why are you here?" Hawk then asked once more trying to stay focused.

"Well, if you want the truth I want to ask you the same thing." She then replied.

"What is going on here?" Hawk then asked a little surprised by what she just said.

The woman didn't go answer right away instead she looked at Hawk's hand, as they continued to shake.

"Never did this before have you?" She asked in with a smirk on her face. Hawk then tried to react but was to slow as she instantly pulled the gun away and aimed it at him. "You're way to slow." Hawk proceeded to put his hands up slowly, "Don't do that." She then said to his surprise, "I'm one of the good guys." She then handed Hawk his gun back, "Always be on your guard." She then added and pushed herself up. Hawk felt a tremendous amount of relief that she didn't pull the trigger. Hawk 

"You know that guy?" Hawk asked interested.

"We've gone a few rounds." She replied.

"Who the hell is he."  
"Gary Shaffer, down in the Gulf War he lost his sight, he was one of the top officers at the time. He became a medical miracle that same year, amazingly enough, all his senses heightened dramatically. Unlike you or I, Shaffer only relies on his other four senses, his eyes can't play tricks on him, he's a lot more efficient than almost any other solider there are exceptions though."

"Well thanks for the insight, now as I asked before, just what the hell are you doing here?"

"Business." She simply responded.

A voice that sounded like Cynthia then cut in on a radio. 

"What is it?" Rachel asked, looking up at Hawk.

"Hey, I've got a new update, it appears, that we may have a shorter time limit than we expected."

"What do you mean?" Cynthia asked, a look of concern forming on her face.

"Well, the terrorist were waiting originally stalling, they didn't know how long it would take to get those missiles ready to launch, but now they're ahead of schedule, you may lose at least one or two hours." 

"You can't be serious," Rachel replied shaking her head in disgust.

"Hey if you run into the company be sure to tell him that." Cynthia then added.

"No need to Cynthia, he's right here."

  
Hawk extended his hand out for the radio, but instead Rachel ended the conversation.

"Hey, I wanted to talk to her." Hawk said a little anger in his tone.

"Hold your horses." Rachel then replied calmly, "Listen, I know why you're hear, and judging by the conversation you know part of the reason I'm here."

"Are you suggesting I team up with you?" Hawk then asked.

"Yeah, but only because of the news. I've got other agendas here, and I need to get those done. What I'm saying is that you take out those missiles, while I take care of business okay?"

Hawk hesitated for a second, she may not have shot him, but he didn't know her, didn't know whether he could trust her or not, Hawk thought for a moment and then ran his fingers through his hair.

"Fine, I'll do it, just where are the missiles?" Hawk said somewhat irritated yet also relived he wasn't on his own anymore.

Hunter watched as a cynical grin crossed Nickolai's face.

"You're positive it was her?" He asked excited.

"Yes sir, I recognized the scent instantly."  
"This is better than I could have hoped for." 

"Sir, may I ask how much longer the preparations for the missile launch may take?"

"There has been a change of plans," Nickolai then wiped the grin off his face.

"What are they?"

"We're going to launch in four more hours, we'll be done sooner then expected."  
"Has Karl informed the boss, and the United States?"  
"He's informed the boss, but as for the U.S. his words were 'let them die.' So now he's become a liability, this could ruin all that we had originally planned." 

"So does that mean he may have to be taken out?"  
"Probably not now, but I do have one thing that I'd like you to do." Nickolai said, a grin once again forming.

"Here, if you need help finding the missiles, Cynthia will help you, she knows where you'd find the missiles." Rachel advised him, and offered a head set.

"Nah, I'm fine." Hawk declined, and watched as Rachel shrugged and put it on herself.

"I'll keep in touch." Rachel then said and left the area.

Right then Hawk tried to reach Cynthia. At first she wasn't there, and a feeling of dread came upon him. Hawk started off in the direction to get to her location but at the same time trying to contact her. As he came to the stairs, he finally got her.  
"Something wrong?" Hawk asked as trying not to sound concerned.  
"No, I had to go to the bathroom, is something up?"  
"Just where are the missiles?" Hawk then asked.  
"Below on B2"  
"There's more then Ten stories?" Hawk asked. He'd checked over the blueprints time and again, and there was no data on either of those two floors.

"Yeah, in order to get there though, you have to find a special key card, at least one guard is supposed to carry that type of card, or at least that is what one of them said."  
"Great," Hawk then murmured. 

"Hey, you'll do fine." Cynthia then said, "Just remember when you find a guard see if he's carrying a blue key card, that will be the one you're looking for."  
"Thanks." Hawk said.

"But when you get to B-1, don't worry about finding where the hell the elevator is, B-1 is just a large floor with nothing to offer, just a bunch of space no longer in use."  
"What was down there?" 

"Tyrant at one point, but then we moved it all up stairs."

Hawk then contacted Tom.

"What is it Hawk?" Tom asked.

"Tell the officials, they've only got four hours. I've just been informed by someone that that's as much time as they willing to give."  
"Four hours?" Tom sounded shocked, "Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, and speaking of which, are you sure this is a one man operation?" Hawk questioned his tone, calm yet stern.

"Yes as far I know you're the only one down there." Tom then stopped to take in the deadline change, "Hawk did they mention why the dead line had been moved up?

"No, only that in four hours they launch.

"Well then why hell did I run into some other agent?"  
"Another operative."  
"Yeah, that's what she claimed."  
"She?" 

"Yeah Tom, she. What should I do?"  
"Trust her, if you're not dead she must be keeping you alive for a reason, but do watch your back especially around her." Tom then paused, and it made Hawk a little uneasy.

"Sir?" Hawk asked.

"Hawk, we don't have time to talk get back to mission." With that Tom then ended transmission.

  
Hawk cussed lightly, and got a move on, time was running thin, if he didn't move fast, he'd be responsible for the deaths of millions, and he didn't want that, didn't need that

As Rachel came to the tiny office room, she instantly smiled when she found Rolland inside. 

"Trish?" he asked, as his eyes narrowed on the woman holding a gun at his head.   
"Yeah, it's me, how are you, life treating you good?" She asked as she moved inside, her eyes carefully looking over the room. Rolland's office was nice, small but nice. The floor was tiled green with rugs under the chairs, painting hung from the wall, along with degrees. She then looked at his desk, a Macintosh rested on top humming lightly, along with a couple of penholders jammed with pens. As Rachel continued to look over she could see pictures of Rolland too. 

"See anything you like?" he asked, his face showed that of a calm, and very strong man that appeared to be scared of nothing.

"Rolland you know what I want." She said lowering the gun.

"Why should I give you the disk, what have you done for me?" he asked curiously. 

Rachel then raised the weapon and fired off a round. She didn't worry about the noise there was a suppressor on it. "Next time, it goes through you brain," she then threatened.   
Rolland didn't move, didn't do anything but smile. Right then Rachel came at him throwing him hard against the wall. "Rolland, don't play with me, I'm not like I was when we first met, now give me the damn files!"

Rolland's look had changed to that of fear, he nervously reached in his lab coat and took out a small circular disk. "Thanks babe." Rachel then set him down, and shot the phone on his desk. 

As soon as Rachel left, Rolland stop shaking, he then balled up his fist in anger, and desired nothing but to see her die at that moment. Shortly afterwards, Rolland watched as Nicholai strolled in. 

"Did you see her?" Rolland rushed up to him.

"See who?" Nicholai asked confused.

"Who, Trish you idiot." He spat.

"No," Nicholai became excited, "how long ago did she leave?" 

"About three minutes ago, now she has the files,"

"You gave them to her?" Nicholai's sly grin was lost replaced by a look of annoyance.

"Yes, and by standing there like a moron, you're giving her time to hide." When Rolland got that sentence out Nicholai instantly felt the urge to take out his gun and shot him right now, no one, but his superiors could talk to him like that, not some overweight coward who became terrified at the mere sight of a mouse.

"Fine," Nicholai said sternly, and turned around to ext "I'll find her, and you make sure to change you pants when I get back." Rolland heard Nicholai mutter something else but his voice was too low to understand what it was. 

Next- some action finally gets underway as Hawk and Hunter square off, also, Hawk reveals some of his past to Cynthia too.


	3. chapeter 3

****

September/28/98

Two days had passed, and Gina finally felt that things may be looking up for her and Cynthia…sort of. Just yesterday they'd finally found their way to the R.P.D. and people were still alive inside. She'd met a ma n, called himself Leon, he was handsome, green too in a sense he was still trying to find survivors, and hoping against hope they were still alive. As she continued talking to him, she realized that he was the last officer left in this god-forsaken place. Leon was here on his first day, he was running a little late, and even thought of holding off a day, but the demand for officers had been too much. She felt sympathy for Leon, a lot of it. He had a future, quite possibly a bright one. Leon showed a lot of confidence, although he was a little too quick to submit, epically to women, she had learned that through his conversations with the woman named Claire.

The room in which she and Leon stayed was it was a small little dark room. There was a desk, with a closet in the corner. On the far wall was the room where the pictures were developed. "So, Leon, did you find the note left for you?" Gina asked finally remembering the message addressed to Leon. 

Leon finally stirred from his thoughts, his eyes came looking up at her, "Note?" he asked.

"Yeah," Gina then laughed a little, "there was going to be a surprise party for you." Right then, Gina and Leon laughed a little, it wasn't even funny, but they laughed anyway. Both of them didn't want to admit it, but they both had their doubts about making it out alive. Gina then looked over at Cynthia. Cynthia was sleeping peacefully on the desk that they had cleared off. It had probably been the first time she'd slept in a while. Gina wanted to sleep too, she'd been up for nearly four days straight, and fatigue was definitely getting to her.

"So where are you from Leon?" Gina then asked wanting to keep the conversation going. 

"I lived here." He then said.

"You lived here?" Gina asked surprised.

"Yeah, in fact, I lived not three blocks from this station." Leon then thought of the memories he'd had in this town, when things were a lot simpler.

At that time another silence fell over the room. Gina then listened out to see what she could hear. There was the light moaning of a zombie, most likely one of the few that had made their way upstairs. After a few moments passed by, the moaning trailed off, and Leon and Cynthia looked at one another, both their faces showed a look of discomfort.  
Leon then shook his head in annoyance, "Just why the hell is all this happening?" he then asked and looked at Gina as if she knew the answer.

Gina shook her head, and then whispered, "I don't know, I just don't know." Gina had lied though, she knew. In fact she knew a lot more then she let on.

Hours later Gina and Cynthia would be on the move again, they'd be forced to leave Leon behind, and tread through the city of Raccoon. But in the time they'd spent together, Gina found that she liked Leon, a lot.

Gina had business to take care of, she needed to move, the factory wasn't going anywhere, but Nicholai was on the move, and soon the government might take action, and she didn't want to be around for it. Gina thought about what to do with Cynthia. The next few ours for her would be tough, but it be that way anywhere, she decided she'd have to take her along.

Rolland eyed the Tyrant though its holding facility. The Tyrant featured superhuman strength, its skin was a very light gray, and its head completely bald, it was extremely muscular too. On the Tyrants right side, instead of an arm there was a long claw, and while it didn't look nearly as fierce as the last few models it was probably the strongest Tyrant out there. Rolland smiled at his creation, he had to commend himself, and he'd done an excellent job. Rolland then heard the door to the lab slide open. Rolland turned around to see Nicholai.

"Did you find her?" Rolland asked still preoccupied with monitoring the Tyrant.

"No," Nicholai replied, "She's gone."  
Rolland then slammed down his pencil. "Jeez, Nicholai, can't you do anything right?" Rolland's voice began to rise, "every time I give you a simple task you always blunder it up, and I'm sick and tired." Rolland then walked over to a phone.

"What are you going to do?" Nicholai then grinned, and began slowly walking over to him, Rolland stopped and looked at Nicholai as he advanced towards him.

"What are up to? "Rolland asked nervously?

"Nothing," Nicholai then said, drawing his handgun.

Rolland instantly went weak in the knees, and stumbled over a chair, "N-Nicholai," He then said pleadingly, "You can't do this." Rolland continued to back up until he backed into a desk. His face went a very pale white, and he was scared half to death.

"Here." Nicholai then offered extending his hand to give him the gun, "Take it, it may come in handy."  
Rolland straightened up and snatched the gun away, examining it closely, "You fucking moron, everything is a game to you isn't it?" Rolland then scolded him and turned around.

"How much more work needs to be done on the Tyrant?" Nicholai then asked unusually calm.

"Well I can tell you that it's not much longer, in fact, my work is basically done." 

Nicholai then grinned, and Rolland shook his head in disgust, "Now you've only got to wait until the machines do their work and then went you want to release it, just uh," He then walked over to a control panel and showed him a small blue button, "You need press this button." He then smiled at Nicholai, "Now get the hell out, you're distracting me." 

"So all I would need to do is press this button?" Nicholai asked.

Rolland then turned around with a look of impatience in his eyes, "Yes you mor--" Rolland's jaw dropped as he saw Nicholai with a gun directly in his face. Nicholai then grinned, "Thank you Rolland," he then squeezed the trigger before Rolland could bring his gun up. Rolland's body the fell to the ground a dead heap, Nicholai's face wore some of Rolland's blood. 

Nicholai then lifted up his radio, immediately!" He then cried into the radio, "It's Rolland he snapped, and came after me, tried to shoot me, I-I had to take him down."

"Yes sir, will get some men down as soon as possible." Nicholai smiled at the corpse, the look of pure terror may have vanished, but he remembered it, savored it. He then turned and exited the room, as guards rushed in to find the dead body of Rolland. 

Hawk had head a loud shot, probably on the floor above. Hawk paused for a moment, and listened for anything else to happen, he stayed perfectly still for a while, and the resumed on his quest to find the key card. 

Hawk was resting in a small lab. He found it hard to believe but as the shot echoed he found himself thinking of Cynthia. Hawk then tried to contact Cynthia right then. She picked up instantly her voice still low. 

"You okay?" Hawk asked.

"I'm fine," She then said laughing a little.

"What's so funny?" Hawk then asked.

"You, every ten minutes you call in wondering if I'm fine, and every time you get the same response."  
Hawk could feel his face redden, "Sorry," he then apologized and continued on forward.

Cynthia didn't leave after that, and Hawk didn't either, instead they both stayed on exchanging conversation, giving each other insight, into some of the others life. 

"Hawk, can I ask you something?" Cynthia then asked once she felt comfortable with him.

"Go for it." He replied.

"Why did you get into this?" She then asked.

Hawk went silent for a moment, "I had nothing else to do." He replied, and Cynthia could tell by his tone there was more to it.

"What happened she then asked, what was your child hood like?"

Hawk fell silent once more, and then sighed, "It was normal." he then simply said.

"Normal? What were your parents like, did you have any brothers or sisters?"

"You go first." Hawk then replied.  
"I asked you."  
"So, I'll tell you about family life if you tell me."  
Now it was Cynthia's turn to be silent.

"Rachel's my family." She then said.

"What do you mean?" Hawk asked baffled.

"I mean my real family is gone."

"How, what happened to them?"

Cynthia paused, "Raccoon City," she then said, "they all died there, I had two brothers, and a sister, I had a mom, and a dad, and in the span of twenty four hours I lost them all."  
"How'd you survive?" Hawk asked.

"Rachel found me." 

"Rachel? She was there?"

"Yeah, I was a frightened girl, and I was at the end of my rope, then she came, saved me from the walking dead, risked everything to make sure I lived." 

Hawk remained quiet; he noticed that he could hear Cynthia sniffle a little.   
"How about you," She then asked solemnly, probably trying to keep from thinking about it.

"I've got a brother" Hawk then said, "His name is Tom, he's a lawyer down in Washington, my mom, never met, her, she died during the Birth of Tom. My father, he was pretty strict. He was a big time athlete in high school and wanted me to do my best at everything, track, basketball, football, you name it and I did it, my brother too, not by choice though." 

"Sorry," Cynthia then said apologetically.

"Don't be, in fact, here comes the answer to your first question." Hawk then said, his voice going low. "My father was killed, but not by just anyone, he was killed by my brother." Hawk then said.

"He did that?"  
"Yeah,"  
"But why he's your--he's your father?" 

"My father didn't care for me, he just wanted me to make it big, do what he couldn't do, all he did was try and train me to be some all-star athlete, and then it happened, I lost it. A while back, when I was eight teen, my dad came in, he was drunk, in a rage, my brother had just recently just suffered a serious injury, meant he couldn't play anymore, it didn't go over with my dad too well, he went out had a little too much to drink and he hit me, and did it again. But I fought back; he hadn't expected that. My old man nearly killed me, but then as he was about to bring his fist down on me once again, I remembered hearing a shot fired. Everything paused for a second, I had no idea what had happened, all I know is, that Tom, my brother, had fired off a shot. I remember the blood flowing on to my shirt and then my father collapsing on me. It was over, just like that." Cynthia didn't say a thing instead she kept on listening, "After that, I went on trial. I took the rap for my brother, he tried his best too stop me, even tried to confess, but it was unsuccessful I made sure of that. I was punished to the full extent of the law, rot in jail on a 2nd degree murder charge." Hawk then paused real quickly, and then he smiled a little, "but then he came." Hawk's voice was full of envy and thankfulness.

"Who?" Cynthia asked.

"A man named Fredrick, he offered a solution. He told me that I could either stay in jail serving my thirty-six-year sentence. Or, I become an agent, under the U.S. government. Fred had done research on my past and me. I was the person he was looking for. He decided to use my abilities, I had to take classes on defense, but I caught on quick. Training was hard, but I was thankful each and everyday that I wasn't behind bars. Cynthia the last few years of my life have just been preparing for this sort of thing. To kill."  
"So do you…enjoy it?"

"Nope, shooting dummies, and then shooting real live, breathing people are two different things, it's not something I enjoy, but I've had to do it. I've killed five men tonight, and the same thing keeps running through my head over and over."

"What is that?" 

"These men may have had families, they may not have been truly bad men, one of them may have even had a kid, or kids." 

"Hawk, your on a mission." another voice then said.

"Rachel?" Hawk asked.

"Yeah, Hawk, I've been monitoring the conversation, Hawk, you can't dwell on this, you're on a mission, people are depending on you, you don't have time to sit around and wonder if what you're doing is really worth it, if it's really justified." Rachel then stopped for a moment.

"Then why do it?" Cynthia asked, "Why do you do it?"

"Cynthia, maybe later on I'll tell you, but right now, it's like I said, there is a mission that needs to be completed, and I plan on doing it. Hawk, you've only got three hours, hurry up, and disarm those missiles, as for you Cynthia, tell Chris that Barry's going to have to make his trip over earlier, you understand?"  
"In unison both of them said yes."

"Whose Barry?" Hawk then inquired.

"A friend," Rachel replied, and they left it at that.

  
Hawk then said goodbye to Cynthia and then stepped out of the office, looking to see if anyone was coming by.

He then made his way through the halls, he ducked around the corner as a guard rushed by. Hawk then got a view of him from behind, and could see that he had a blue key card.   
"Yes!" Hawk then whispered to himself as he watched the man duck into the bathroom. Hawk then rushed behind him but being careful not to make to much noise. He then took out his gun as he entered the bathroom and held up his gun. 

  
The guard moaned in relief and then began to zip up his pants, at that moment, a gun the pressed against his head. The guard instantly froze with fear.

"Don't move." Hawk then said as he reached out and took the keycard. He smiled as he looked over it real quick, and then he knocked the guard out with the butt of his gun.   
  
Hawk hurried down the halls, only three hours were left, he was in a rush to find that elevator. When Hawk came to it, he slid the blue key card through and then waited for the elevator. Hawk peered around for a moment to see if anyone was coming. The doors then slid open in front of him and Hawk quickly got in, and punched the key that read B1.

After a light shutter the elevator began to move down Hawk's heart was pumping hard against his chest now, as soon as he got this done he'd be another step closer to ending this mission. Hawk felt another shutter and the doors opened.

B1 was well lit, and large too. The floor was just gray, and the walls were also gray, pillars were everywhere, and at the end lay another elevator, Hawk then walked forward. Hawk didn't go far though he stopped dead in his tracks as he realized the elevator was coming up. Hawk then heard the beeping sound and looked on in surprise as the Elevator doors opened and out stepped Hunter.

  
"Not good." Hawk then said.

Hunter stepped forward and smiled at him, he now had on a white t-shirt and his white army fatigues, and over his shoulder he had his regular assault rifle.   
"So, you finally came?" Hunter asked.

"Out of my way, I'm getting to those missiles." Hawk then managed to say.

"Only over my dead body," Hunter then said, and rose up his gun.

Hawk drew his weapon too, "That can be arranged." he then replied.

Hawk then ran behind the nearby pillar to his right as Hunter began to fire. Hawk waited as Hunter's bullets continued to pound on the pillar. As soon as he stopped, Hawk rolled out from behind and fired off three shots, he then instantly moved again as the barrage of shots went off again.

  
"You can't win!" Hunter then cried out. Hunter then tried to shoot at Hawk but the boy was too quick, he was behind the pillars again, he hated that. Hunter then began to shout once more. "Come on," he then cried, "let us settle this like men" he then said.

  
Hawk stood behind the pillar wondering what to do, whether or not he should try it. Hawk then heard the sound of a gun hitting the ground, and knew that Hunter had dropped his gun. Hawk then popped out and held onto his gun, but nothing was there. "What the heck just happened?" Hawk then asked and then as if to answer his question, Hunter came down from the ceiling knocking his gun down. 

"You've got to be kidding me." Hawk then said.

"I assure you it's no mutation my friend, it's just my raw power."

"Great." Hawk said sarcastically.

Hunter then let out a great primal roar and Hawk braced himself as the monstrosity charged towards him.

Hunter sent Hawk flying back. Hawk struggled to get up for a few seconds; the impact had set his chest on fire, the man hit real hard. Hawk then got into his fighting stance. Hunter came again this time with a barrage of punches that Hawk blocked successfully. Hawk then ducked as Hunter tried to kick him in the upper body, once down low he tried a sweep kick, but Hunter's legs were like steel. Hunter then grabbed Hawk and lifted him up high; he then threw him behind him like a rag doll. 

Hawk stood up on one knee, and Hunter came once more. Hawk managed to run back against a wall, he then jumped and pushed off of it, bringing his right leg around, connecting with a blow that knocked Hunter square in his jaw. Hunter stumbled back; the move had caught him off guard. Now it was Hawk on the attack, as Hunter stumbled back Hawk ran in, punching his hardest connecting with blows over and over to the mid-section. Hawk was surprised when they seemed to have no effect. Hunter then raised his right hand and slapped him away.

"You disappoint me little man." Hunter then said arrogantly while slowly walking towards him.

"Well," Hawk said out of breath, pushing up slowly "Maybe you should" He then tried to strike him, "Back off!" He then cried. Hunter easily caught Hawk's fist, and lifted him by it. He then struck him twice in the stomach, causing Hawk to spit up a little blood. Hunter then dropped him and kicked him back.

Hawk didn't move for a moment, instead he lied there, trying to take a breath. After a second he then forced himself up again, a little blood dripping from his mouth.

Hawk could hear Hunter coming and he rolled away, as Hunter leapt in the air, about to bring his knee down on him. Hunter let out a little moan of pain, but quickly tried attacking again. Hawk managed to stand now, and jumped back as Hunter came swinging, he continued to do so until he came to the end of the wall, he then watched Hunter pull his fist back and try to hit him. Hawk ducked and then went with an uppercut, which sent Hunter back. Hawk then ran forward and tried a jump kick. Hunter stumbled back some more, and Hawk kept coming gaining a little momentum with each hit. But as the tides turned, Hawk tried to come with another punch. Hunter caught his fist though, and then pulled Hawk in close, and wrapped his arms around him. Hunter had Hawk in a bear hug now, and he began to squeeze. Hawk screamed in pain as the grip tightened. Hawk couldn't breath, he felt as those his ribs were going to break any second. Hawk then tired to strike him with his head over and over, and all that did to Hunter was make his nose bleed and cause him to squeeze even harder. Hawk could see everything starting to blacken, he struggled to free himself, and then got a solution, Hawk then kicked with his legs, and then Hunter yelled out, in pain, as e was forced to drop Hawk. Hunter stumbled back hunched over. 

Hawk gasped for air, and the battle had ceased for a moment. "At least he's not immune to everything." Hawk the grinned a little.   
Hawk then looked around and saw what he had wanted, he instantly started to move, scrambling for his gun, He then heard Hunter roar out, and heard his heavy footsteps coming.

Hawk extended his arm and dived out, he then managed to turn over, and let out a shot, that echoed through the floor. Hunter slowed but didn't stop, Hawk fired again. Hunter then fell to one knee but still kept trying to come at him, Hawk then fired two more shots, and Hunter fell over on his back. 

Hawk got up slowly clutching his stomach. Hawk kept his gun leveled at Hunter, he was prepared for everything. When he got there, Hunter was short of breath, and his life was quickly slipping away. 

"You are a good warrior." he then said, his voice raspy and full of exhaustion. 

"Just why the hell were you willing to betray your own country?" Hawk asked as he looked over the warrior.

Hunter paused a moment, "it betrayed me." he then said, "they're using you, they just want that virus, that's all, and they'll stop at nothing to get it," he then paused for a moment. "I'll let you in on a secret." He then said, his voice growing fainter.

Hawk leaned in to hear what he had to say.

"Karl," Hunter then wheezed in a low voice, "Karl is not the real threat."   
"What do you mean?" Hawk then asked, his interest peeking.

"The missiles-" Hunter then mumbled and managed to get out something else, but Hawk couldn't understand it, he then looked into Hawk's eyes, "they'll mess with you, try to change you," he then said. "Just remember though, no matter what, always…always, fight for what you believe in." 

"Hey, you can't die, not now," Hawk then begged. Hawk couldn't make out all that Hunter had added, all he heard was boss and to fight for what he'd believed in. Hunter had breathed his last breath there was no getting him back. 

Hawk then closed Hunter's eyes.

Hawk got up, and slowly walked over to the elevator. Hunter had told him the missiles were no threat. In his last breath, Hawk knew Hunter was being honest, but Hawk was looking at a worse case scenario, and he couldn't possibly risk it. Hawk stepped in the elevator taking one last look over Hunter; he then whispered something, "thanks." Hawk then punched in the B2 button, and descended below.

****

NOTE: I screwed up, Cynthia was supposed to be thirteen in the flash backs

Next: Hawk finds the missiles, and is captured, and finally meets Karl who explains his motives. Also in the flashbacks Gina and Cynthia find themselves in a race against time to get out of the dead city as they learn of the bombing.


End file.
